By Adam Donnelly

Ashcroft Jays defeat Westbank Cardinals to win Titans Classic Fastball tournament

May 28, 2018 | 10:31 AM

KAMLOOPS — After losing in the final of the 2017 event, the Ashcroft Jays got redemption in the 2018 Kamloops Titans Men’s Spring Classic fastball tournament, defeating the Westbank Cardinals 7-6 in the championship game.

The Jays punched their ticket into the finals with a walk-off extra-innings win over that same Cardinals squad in the A final earlier on Sunday, as Zach Wilson hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 6th inning with the tiebreaker rule in effect.

The Cardinals had to play an extra game to get into the final, beating the Abbotsford Builders 16-9 in a marathon contest decided by the runs ahead of rule after 6-innings.

In the final, the Jays jumped out to an early lead on the strength of a Justin Minnabarriet solo homer in the first inning. Wilson also had another big fly for the Jays, who jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. West bank battled back after Chad Ghostkeeper hit a 3-run bomb off Jays starter Ryan Spence, but tournament MVP Matt Underwood came into the game in the 6th for a 4-out save, as the Jays hung on to with their first title at the Titans Spring Classic.

The host team Kamloops Titans were eliminated from Championship contention on Sunday morning, after losing to Kelowna 7-4 in a hard-fought contest. 2018 marked the first year in the event’s history the Titans failed to make the championship game.

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Matt Underwood was named tournament MVP for the Jays. Westbank’s Craig Pidcock was named top pitcher, while Cards’ catcher Scott Nehaj earned the Chris Hamm Top Batter Award, going 10-for-13 on the weekend (.769).